Trial Summary
Orego-Stim® Improves Ewe Performance During Late Pregnancy and Early Lactation
Summary
Orego-Stim is known to benefit maternal energy
balance and lactation performance and so was included in ewe concentrate
rations to understand effects in ovines.
-
Orego-Stim was shown to improve ewe dry matter intake (DMI) of forage around lambing and
increased lamb weight gain.
- Orego-Stim
was also seen to help to alleviate ewe live weight loss during early
lactation, this conferred benefits
in energy efficiency may improve
subsequent lambing performance.
Background
Orego-Stim is a high quality plant based eubiotic, containing
100% natural oregano essential oil that
has been shown to improve sow feed intake and piglet performance (Tan et al.,
2015).
This trial was designed in order to evaluate the effect of feeding Orego-Stim in ewe concentrates on ewe and lamb performance.
Results
-
Orego-Stim included at 2.0g/kg in the concentrate
tended to increase ewe forage intake
and significantly reduced ewe live
weight loss during early lactation.
-
Including Orego-Stim in ewe concentrate at 2.0g/kg
increased lamb daily live-weight gain
from week 4 post-partum to finish (data not shown for brevity).
-
The maternal reserves maintained in the ewe will
likely result in economic benefits and
improved profitability during
subsequent production cycles.
Trial design
An
independent trial was carried
out at Harper Adams University, UK. Where 48 twin bearing Suffolk x Mule ewes were
allocated by parity, live weight (LW) and body condition score (BCS) to one of
three dietary treatment groups
All ewes had ad libitum access to good
quality grass silage and were provided either
- A control concentrate (Control),
- The control concentrate with 1.0g/kg Orego-Stim (OS-1)
included
-
The control concentrate with 2.0g/kg
Orego-Stim (OS-2) included.
Ewes were housed individually
from week 6 pre-partum to week 4 post partum.
Following this, ewes and lambs were group housed and maintained on
dietary treatments until weaning at eight weeks of age.
Orego-Stim is Anpario's 100% natural high quality oregano essential oil (OEO) additive range.
- OEO naturally contains antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds to support a healthy digestive system and aid nutrient absorption.
- Supports animal's natural defence mechanism and aids natural immunity.
Have enquiries? Get in touch with us at info@anpariodirect.co.uk